FRANCE FOR THE SOLDIER 

A FEW FACTS FOR THE INFORMATION 
OF AMERICANS 



BY 



Gilbert Chinard 

Professor of French at the University of CaUfornia 



TRANSLATED BY 

J. LOEWENBERG 

Assistant Professor of Philosophy, 
University of California 



The Military Bureau of the University of California 
is gratified to include among its publications this trans- 
lation of Professor Gilbert Chinard's Pour Mieux 
Connattre la France. It was done into English by 
Professor J. Loewenberg, to whom special thanks 
are due. 

LEON J. RICHARDSON, Director. 

July, 1918. 



FRANCE FOR THE SOLDIER 

A FEW FACTS FOR THE INFORMATION 
OF AMERICANS 



BY 

Gilbert Chinard 

Professor of French at the University of California 

TRANSLATED BY 

J. LOEWENBERG 

Assistant Professor of Philosophy, 
University of California 



Published by the 

MILITARY INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 

BERKELEY 



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FROM CARD f^i-CTSfSN. 

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I. GEOGRAPHY 

Relatively speaking, France is a small country. In area 
,^ she covers but 536,464 square kilometers, including the 

^ small islands in territorial waters and Corsica. She may be 

ji said to occupy about a twentieth part of the European 

o continent. Slightly smaller than Austria-Hungary, Germany 

^ and even Spain, France is larger than Great Britain and 

Italy. The treaty of Francfort, which wrested Alsace- 
Lorraine from France reduced her territory by 14,518 
square kilometers. 

Excepting the northeast, France has natural frontiers 
on every side. On the northeast the boundary is purely 
artificial, being the result of treaties; but on the north she 
is bounded by the North Sea and the English channel, on 
the west by the Atlantic ocean, on the southwest by the 
Pyrenees, on the southeast by the Mediterranean, and on 
the east by the Alps, the Jura and the Vosges. 

The geographical position of France is enviable. She is 
placed at the same distance from the Equator and the Pole. 
Her climate varies indeed with different regions, but owing 
to the Atlantic currents it never reaches extreme heat or 
extreme cold. 

On the other hand, her position at the extremity of 
Western Europe has had for France certain disadvantages. 
As a natural terminus, she had frequently invited great 
invasions and migrations. The Mediterranean peoples and 
the tribes from the north had in the past striven for 
supremacy on her soil; and at Chalons in 451, just as at 
the Marne in 1914, France had checked the invasion of the 
barbarians. 

The coasts of France are of unusual extension. Because 
of their length, France is the most maritime of the central 
European nations. Important also is the fact that no por- 
tion of French territory is farther than 400 kilometers 
from the sea. 



II. POPULATION 

According to the census of 1911, France has a popula- 
tion of 39,601,509 inhabitants. In 1866 her population was 
38 million; in 1872, through the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, it 
shrank to 36,102,000. France has since gained three and 
a half million. In population she is behind Russia (125 
million), the United States (100 million), Germany (64 
million), Japan (51 million), and the British Isles (45 
million). Increase in births has been very insignificant, 
though the latest figures show a slight improvement. The 
birth rate is 26 per 1,000; the death rate but 20 per 1,000. 

Before the war there were in France over a million 
foreigners (1,372,700 in 1911). About 30,000 immigrants 
arrive every year, while the emigi-ants have for the last 
thirty years averaged 15,000 yearly. These figures indicate 
a certain fixity of the French population. 

Although the national feeling which unites these 39 mil- 
lion people is very deep, yet one cannot properly speak of 
them as a French race. The present French people are the 
result of a racial mixture that has been going on for many 
centuries. The most ancient people known to history that 
occupied a portion of Gaul are the Iberians. The Ligures 
followed next; and after taking possession of the whole 
territory were driven back towards the Mediterranean. Later 
on the Celts, after several extended migrations mixed with 
the more ancient population. Their civilization disappeared, 
however, soon after the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. 
The result was the spread of Latin culture among a pre- 
dominantly Celtic population. The Germanic invasions, 
from the fourth to the sixth century after Christ, though 
modifying but slightly the people south of the Loire, had 
a more considerable effect in the northeast where the Franks 
settled in large numbers. The later invasions had a less 
important influence. In addition, the Arabs marched 
through the south, influencing the racial character of the 
population. The same holds of the Normands who had estab- 
lished themselves along the shores of the English channel 



and of the English who had occupied Aquitania and the 
Spanish Franche-Comte. All these mixtures have neces- 
sarily determined the racial composition of France. 

While it is true that in certain regions, such as Brittany 
and Auvergne, particular types may still be recognized, it 
is extremely difficult to define a general French type. "The 
French people are a people of individuals," an American 
writer has recently remarked, "where one can find represen- 
tatives of the most diverse races." 

This people, racially so diversified, is nationally hom- 
ogeneous. For a long time, but more particularly since the 
French Revolution (1789), France has prided herself upon 
national rather then racial unity. National unity is the 
unity of individuals, who live a common life under common 
institutions. Fundamental to such unity is voluntary assent 
and not mere historic antiquity. In this respect, modern 
France, which is composed of so many different elements, 
resembles strongly the United States. America, too, is 
inhabited by a mixed population of a more recent origin 
and consequently less amalgamated but nevertheless unified 
by the same desire to live in a land of their own free choice, 
and under freely elected institutions. This is the very foun- 
dation of both French and American patriotism. And this 
explains why the French attach so much importance to the 
question of Alsace-Lorraine. These provinces, torn from 
France is 1871, have for her more than a territorial signi- 
ficance. She would be faithless to herself were she to 
admit that 1,500,000 Frenchmen could be forcibly retained 
under foreign domination after they had solemnly expressed 
their will to live under French institutions. France is rooted 
in a will to live a common life upon a soil hallowed by tradi- 
tion. It is fair to say that France is a moral rather than a 
geographical entity. 

III. GOVERNMENT 

In spite of her long history, the political organization 
of France is relatively modern. The present French Re- 
public was proclaimed in 1870. Its constitution dates from 
1875 and was amended in 1879 and again in 1884. 



The French reptroiic is represHiiTarive ana aemocfatic; 

all Frenchmen of 21 years of age having the vote. The 
legislative power is centered in two houses: the Senate and 
the Chamber of Deputies. The Senators whose number is 
300 are elected for nine years. The election for Senators 
takes place every three years and affects thus only one- 
third of the Senate. The Senators are elected by dele- 
gates. The Deputies, however, are elected directly by uni- 
versal suffrage for four years. Their number is 604. 

These two assemblies complement and control one an- 
other. The Chamber of Deputies has the right to discuss 
and to vote first on the budget. It alone has the power to 
impeach the President of the Republic and the ministers. 
On the other hand, the Senate may constitute itself a 
Higher Court of Justice to judge the President and the 
ministers and all others who conspire against the safety of 
the state. 

The President of the Republic is the chief executive. He 
is elected for seven years by a Congress composed of the 
two Houses, and may be re-elected. These are his powers: 
control of the armed forces of the nation for the mainten- 
ance or the restoration of order; appointment of civil and 
military officials; promulgation of the laws; signing of 
treaties; declaration of war with the consent of the Houses; 
and the right of pardon. Though he may exercise a great 
personal influence, in practice the President uses but spar- 
ingly his constitutional prerogatives. 

The President governs through ministers who are respon- 
sible to Parliament. He chooses the head of the cabinet, 
or the president of the council of ministers, according to 
the indications of the majority in the two Houses, and 
generally after consulting the party leaders. But the head 
of the cabinet, or the "Premier" as he is called in English, 
chooses with the approval of the President the different 
ministers who are to constitute the cabinet. Parliamentary 
usage requires the "Premier" to read before both Houses 
a statement of the cabinet's policy and to ask for a vote of 
confidence. The vote of confidence is asked for on different 
occasions, but notably when the cabinet thinks it has not the 



approval of the Senate or Chamber of Deputies on an im- 
portant question. A cabinet that fails to obtain a vote of 
confidence places its resignation in the hands of the Presi- 
dent of the Republic. This system differs from the par- 
liamentary system of the United States. The French system 
produces cohesion of the executive and legislative powers 
and constant co-operation of the government with the par- 
liamentary majority. But one of the disadvantages is the 
ministerial instability which results from it. Hence the 
frequent cabinet crises in France. But this instability is 
counter-balanced by the permanency of the various heads 
of the departments. There exist also permanent boards 
for the army, navy, public instruction, etc. 

The responsibility of the cabinet is a joint one; all the 
ministers resign if the head of the cabinet resigns, but they 
may become members of the next cabinet. 

The ministries vary in number. Some are permanent. - 
The most important are : Foreign Relations, War, Navy, 
Finance, Interior, Public Works, Public Instruction, Justice, 
Commerce, Colonies, Agriculture, Post and Telegraph. They 
correspond in general to the different departments in the 
American government. 

Administratively, France is divided into 86 departments, 
which are again subdivided into 2,915 cantons and 2,915 
communes. These divisions date back to the Revolution, 
and are independent of geographical and historical con- 
ditions. 

Every department is administered by a prefect, appointed 
by the government. The prefect is assisted by a general 
council elected by the people. The general council fixes 
the departmental budget, assesses taxes but has no political 
power. It can, however, express wishes which are laid 
before the government. The prefect attends the meetings 
of the general council, but he has no vote. 

The arrondissement is a very unimportant cog in the 
governmental wheel. It has at its head a subprefect who 
is under the orders of the prefect. The abolition of the 
arondissements has been frequently discussed. 

The canton composed of a group of communes is essen- 
tially an administrative division. It is the seat of a justice 

7 



of peace, of a "council of revision," an organization cor- 
responding to the present American draft and exemption 
board. Delegates from the canton supervise the teaching in 
private and public schools. 

The true administrative unit is the commune. It is ad- 
ministered by a municipal council elected for four years by 
universal suffrage. The municipal council is presided over 
by a mayor elected by its members. The mayor sei-ves 
without pay. He carries out the decisions of the munici- 
pal council. He is the chief of the local police, but is also 
considered as the delegate of the central power whose laws 
and decrees he enforces. The municipal council comprises 
from 12 to 30 members according to the size of the 
commune. 

Paris and Lyons, the two most important cities in France, 
have a somewhat different organization. The functions of 
the mayor are shared in Paris by the prefect of police and 
the prefect of the Seine, both appointed by the government. 
Paris has a municipal council elected by universal suffrage, 
but is divided into several arrondissements at the head of 
which are mayors appointed by the government whose 
powers are limited. 

IV. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

French education is under the supervision of the Minis- 
ter of Public Instruction. It is divided into three classes: 
primary education, secondary education, and higher edu- 
cation. Each constitutes a special department at whose 
head is a director. 

Primary education is free and compulsory. The teachers 
are graduates of normal schools or else have obtained a 
special certificate conferred by the government after a 
special examination. 

The schools are supported partly by the State and partly 
by the Commune. The total budget in 1913 was about 225 
million francs. The pupils are about 13 years old when they 
leave the grammar schools. Those who wish to continue 
their studies enter a .higher primary school where instruc- 
tion is largely practical, or one of the colleges or lycees 



which will be described later. In 1913 106,564 pupils were 
enrolled in the primary schools of France. 

Secondary instruction is given in state lycees of which 
there are 112 with 62,000 students, and in communal 
colleges whose number is 231 with 37,000 students. Except- 
ing the universities there is no co-education in France. 
The curriculum for the girls is similar to that of the boys. 
There are 54 state lycees for girls with 23,000 students and 
84 communal colleges with 13,000 students. At the present 
time, however, there are more private than public institutions 
for girls. The students branch off early into several groups 
of study such as Latin and Greek, Latin and sciences, Latin 
and modern languages, sciences and modern languages. 
But certain common subjects are prescribed for all groups, 
such as French language and literature, geography, history, 
science, history of philosophy, and at least one modern 
language. Students receive the degree of Bachelor upon 
the successful completion of their courses and are then 
permitted to enter the University or the special technical 
schools. 

The teachers of secondary schools must have a state 
degree. The degree of agregation is required for the lycees; 
that of licence for the colleges. 

The universities are divided into the traditional four 
faculties, viz., Law, Medicine, Sciences, and Letters. While 
the most important university is the University of Paris, the 
provincial universities have in recent years greatly developed 
and are now more autonomous than in the past. In 1914, 
there were 42,037 students in the French universities, 6,188 
of them were foreigners. 

The university professors are appointed by the Minister 
of Public Instruction. They must have high qualifications 
and give evidence of independant scholarship. 

In addition to the universities there are special schools 
and institutions such as the Ecole Polytechnique, Saint Cyr 
for the army, I'Ecole Centrale for civil engineers. There are 
six national and ninety technical schools of Arts and Crafts; 
six schools of Hydrography; twelve high schools and thirty- 
seven practical schools of Commerce; three national and 
forty-six practical Schools of Agriculture. 



The development of the educational system in France is 
comparatively recent and is largely due to the efforts of the 
government of the Third Republic. The public school 
teachers compare very favorably vi^ith the school teachers 
of any other nation, and the high standard of secondary 
education in France is generally admitted. The French 
university degrees are famous, representing conscientious 
research, lucidity of presentation and independence of 
judgment in a variety of fields. 

V. TRANSPORTATION 

France has the most complete and the finest system of 
roads in the w^orld. There are in France 38,000 kilometers 
of national highways, vv^ith a minimum w^idth of 11 meters; 
15,000 kilometers of departmental highways, with a mini- 
mum width of 8 meters; 165 kilometers of communal roads; 
and 74,000 of country roads. This system of highways 
converges towards Paris forming a sort of spider web of 
which the center is the capital. 

The part played by the roads has had a tendency to 
diminish since the development of the railways. It has 
assumed importance again with the automobile. It is well 
known how the French are making use of their roads in 
the present war. One need but recall the defense of Verdun 
and the more recent transportation of troops into Italy. 

The railroad lines are laid out according to the same 
general plan and they too converge towards Paris, except 
the southern lines. France has 40,000 kilometers of rail- 
roads, and 8,000 kilometers of local railroads. They cari'y 
every year 150 million tons of freight and 500 million 
passengers. 

The lines are divided in six big districts belonging to 
private companies which operate them under the control 
of the state. The western state railroad (Ouest-Etat) alone 
belongs today to the government. 

Canals have a comparatively small importance. France 
has 12,000 kilometers of water ways, 7,200 kilometers of 
which are rivers and 4,800 canals. They carry a total 
freight of 35 million tons. Paris, which is the most import- 
ant fresh water port, receives alone 10 million tons by the 

10 



canals. These figures naturally have increased since the 
beginning of the war. There has been a regular service 
between Paris and London for several years. 

VI. COMMERCE 

It has been estimated that the total yearly production 
of wealth in France amounts to 132 billion francs, of which 
12 billion are derived from agriculture and 120 from in- 
dustry. 

The foreign trade of France amounted in 1911 to 14,143 
million. In the same year British trade rose to about 31,200 
million, that of Germany to about 21,700 million, and that 
of the United States to about 18,300 million. 

The relative inferiority of French foreign trade may be 
largely explained by the fact that France is essentially 
agricultural and more or less self supporting. 

In 1913 the merchant ships aggregated 947,205 tons for 
steamships, and 460,253 for sailing vessels. 

The chief port is Marseilles. The opening since the war 
of a new canal bored through the hills which surround 
the city will greatly enlarge it and connect it with the 
Rhone river. After Marseilles come le Havre, Cherbourg, 
Bordeaux, and Rouen. France has a number of well located 
ports, but often insufficiently equipped with modern machin- 
ery. Since the war great progress has been made in this 
respect and the foreign trade of France promises to develop 
greatly in the future. 

In 1911, 8,066 million francs of goods were imported, 
and 6,077 million were exported. 

Importations comprised, first, raw materials, textile, silk, 
wool, cotton, English and Belgian coal, and timber from 
Norway and Russia. Next in order came articles of food 
such as wheat, cofi'ee, and wine. Manufactured articles 
came last. These were principally English and American 
machinery. 

The exportations comprised first of all manufactured 
articles amounting to more than 3,510 million. Raw ma- 
terials amounted to no more than 1,830 million; foodstuffs 
occupied the last place with 737 million. 



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In commercial relations with France, Great Britain 
occupies the first place: importations 933 millions; exporta- 
tions, 1,216. Germany comes next with 795 million of im- 
portations and 1,774 of exportations. Belgium: Importa- 
tions, 542 million; exportations, 1,024 million, and the 
United States: importations, 826 million; exportations, 380 
million. It may be seen from these figures that America 
is a very good customer of France. 

The commercial situation will no doubt undergo radical 
changes everywhere after peace is restored. The war has 
already affected and modified to a large extent French in- 
dustries, and there is no doubt that the commercial standing 
of France in the world trade will be greatly increased. 

VII. INDUSTRIES 

According to the statistics of 1906, of the 20 million 
people who lived from the product of their work, 9 million 
were employed in agriculture and a little less than 6 million 
in industry. The richest portion of France from an indus- 
trial point of view is in the hands of the enemy. It has 
therefore been necessary to create new industries and to 
build new factories in the last four years. This necessity 
has given to French industry a new impulse. Manufacturers 
who before the war specialized in the production of a small 
number of well wrought and finished articles are now obliged 
to learn how to produce things on a so-called "wholesale 
scale." There is every reason to believe that the lesson 
thus learned will not be forgotten. 

In the past, the chief obstacle to French industrial 
development was a scarcity of coal. Just before the war, 
France produced 40 million tons, but had to import almost 
20 million. Much is expected from the development of the 
hydraulic power of water falls and torrents. In this field 
much has already been accomplished. Only 200,000 H.P. 
were utilized in 1902; but in 1917 more than 1,200,000 H.P. 
were used. This is but a small part of a power which has 
been evaluated at more than 6 million H.P., or more than 
half of all the mechanical power employed in France in 
normal times. 



On the other hand, there is an abundance of iron ore. 
Almost 20 million tons were extracted in 1912, of which 
the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle alone yielded more 
than 16 million. From 1908 to 1912 the production in- 
creased 91 per cent, and just before the war France was 
third in the production of iron, behind the United States (60 
million tons) and Germany (27 nlillion), but ahead of Great 
Britain, Sweden, Spain and Luxembourg-. In 1912, 8,324,- 
000 tons were exported to Belgium, Germany, Holland and 
England. Since the war, other and less rich mines which 
had been known for a long time have been opened. It is said 
that Germany made her desperate assaults upon Verdun in 
order to gain possession of the mines of Meurthe-et-Moselle 
and cripple the French industries. France is rich in alumi- 
num ore. In 1912, 260,000 tons were extracted. The 
production of aluminum (10,200 tons) places France just 
behind the United States (22,000 tons). 

In other minerals France is less favored. Her colonies 
of Northern Africa, however, produce 2,510,000 tons of 
phosphate, which places France just behind the United 
States. Stone quarries are numerous and there is a great 
abundance of material for construction. France in 1912 
exported more than 240,000 tons of cement. She could find 
on her soil the necessary material with which to reconstruct 
her destroyed cities. 

Zinc, lead, antimony are to be found in paying quantities. 
Gold diggings produce about 8 million francs a year. The 
mineral waters which are well known all over the world con- 
stitute another source of wealth. 

Of all the French industries the textile industry is the 
most important. It employs about a million people. The 
chemical industries had attained just before the war an 
important development, and France ranked third after the 
United States and Germany. The export of perfumery was 
estimated at 30 million francs. In the production of cel- 
luloid France was first. On the average 807,000 tons of 
sugar were produced before the war, the greater part 
coming from regions now in the hands of the enemy. The 
production of industrial alcohol amounted to 2,291,000 



hectoliters. Secondary industries and industries of luxury 
extremely varied, are scattered all over the country. We 
only mention glass, paper, tanneries, potteries, food products 
and automobiles. 

VIII. AGRICULTURE 

Like industry, agriculture in France is remarkable for 
its variety. France produces everything, but in limited 
quantities. The variety of the climate, and the parcelling 
out of the land (there are in France not less than 8,000,000 
small land owners of v^^hom 5,500,000 are farmers) deter- 
mine this particular agricultural condition. 

The total surface of France covers 133 million acres: 
98 million are cultivated; 25 million are covered with woods 
and forests; 9 and a half million are marshes and moors. 

France is a country of wheat and wine — two elements 
constitutive of the food ration of her inhabitants. In spite 
of the small extent of her territory, France is third in the 
production of wheat, coming with an average of 82 million 
hundredweight per year, after the United States and Russia. 
This quantity almost suffices for her consumption in normal 
times. But when the harvest is deficient France has to 
import between 10 and 20 million hundredweight, for the 
French are the greatest bread-eaters in the world. The 
present shortage of wheat in France can be explained by the 
fact that the French farmers have been mobilized; the wo- 
men themselves have to a certain extent left the farms to 
work in ammunition factories and increase the output of 
shells and guns necessary for the defense of the country. 

The production of wine is subject from year to year to 
great fluctuations. The average of production from 1900 
to 1910 was 14 million gallons. Only well known and 
expensive vintages are exported. The export of wine is, 
however, one of the most important constituents of French 
jforeign trade. 

Food industries are numerous and certain products are 
exported to England and to Switzerland. Garden products 
have increased during the last few years. Although in cer- 
tain regions products are determined by the climate, such 



as sugar beets in the north, wheat in the plains of Beauce, 
and wine in the south and the valley of Loire, the French 
farmer endeavors to grow on his farm all that he needs for 
his sustenance, and consequently specializes less than the 
American farmer. 

Cattle breeding has seen a considerable growth in the 
nineteenth century. France had before the war about 15 
million cattle; 7 million hogs; about 3 million horses; 18 
million sheep and a million and a half goats. In 1915 the 
number of cattle was reduced to 12 million and the number 
of hogs to 5 million. 

The parcelling out of the land interferes with the me- 
chanical cultivation of the soil. Nevertheless under the 
Third Republic the French peasants have made remarkable 
progress, owing to the organization of agricultural syndi- 
cates which pool their resources to buy machinery and 
fertilizers. The progress has been more marked since the 
government has founded agricultural schools and provided 
insurance for farmers and agricultural workers. 

IX. COLONIES 

French colonies constitute for France a source of wealth 
hitherto little known. 

The colonial empire of France is only second to that of 
Great Britain. It covers a surface of 10 million and a half 
kilometers, with a population of 48 million. Its commerce 
amounts to 3 billion francs a year. 

The most important possession of France in Africa is 
Algiers, which covers almost 3 million square kilometers 
including the Sahara desert. Its population is 5 million 
and a half (5,492,569), made up of diflferent elements.' 
Europeans are in the minority with 752,000, of whom nearly 
500,000 are French. The natives numbering 4,740,500 are 
divided into Berbers, Moors and Jews; there is also a certain 
number of negroes. Until now Algiers has been a pre- 
eminently agricultural colony in which irrigation is well 
developed. But the mines are also very important. In 
1912, 1,240,000 tons of iron were extracted and exported. 
Copper, zinc and lead ores are also extracted. Unfort- 
unately there is no coal. 



Algiers is situated between two protectorates, Tunis and 
Morocco, both very rich. Tunis has great mining resources 
in iron and phosphates. As for Morocco, the northern part 
of which has been conceded to Spain, it is a country of 
great promise though little known. Even during the war 
France has carried on the systematic development of the 
country. 

The other French colonies in Africa are Eastern French 
Africa and Equatoi'ial French Africa. Owing to the climate 
they do not lend themselves to the same development. 
Nevertheless, Equatorial French Africa was already promis- 
ing to become very prosperous when it was mutilated by the 
Franco-German agreement of the 4th of November, 1911. 
France, going to the limit of concessions to avoid a break 
with Germany, abandoned at that time important territories. 
Equatorial French Africa is now divided into three uncon- 
nected segments. 

On the eastern coast of Africa, France possesses the 
coast of Somaliland, with Obock and Djibouti, and in the 
Indian ocean the Comores archipelago, the Reunion island 
and the great island of Madagascar, of which the surface is 
almost as large as that of France, Belgium and Holland 
together. This last island is very rich but still thinly pop- 
ulated, with only three million and a half inhabitants. 

Of her ancient Indian possessions, France has retained 
only five cities separated from one another. They are of 
little importance. 

On the other hand, French Indo-China constitutes a 
domain of 803,000 square kilometers whose population 
amounts to about 16 million. The native with an advanced 
civilization form the majority of the population. The French 
colonial policy in Indo-China has always been to encourage 
the progress of the natives rather than to colonize. 

The possessions in the Pacific ocean are less important. 
They comprise New Caledonia and its dependencies, Tahiti 
being the best known. 

In America, in addition to the islands Saint Pierre and 
Miquelon situated near Newfoundland, important only as 
fisheries, France possesses the French West Indies, Guada- 
loupe, Martinique and their dependencies. On the South 



1 



American continent, Guyana is the only French possession 
and is still undeveloped. 

With her colonies France forms an empire second only 
to that of Great Britain and Russia but ahead of China and 
the United States, despite the small extent of her European 
territory. In population she occupies the fifth place, com- 
ing- after China, the British Empire, Russia and the United 
States. It should be noted that almost the whole of this 
colonial empire was founded during the nineteenth cen- 
tury and greatly developed since 1870. These colonial 
accomplishments must be taken into account to gain a 
just estimate of France. This vast empire was created 
just after a disastrous war that cost her an indemnity so 
enormous that Germany thought it sufficient to ruin her. 
Here we have an exhibition of a vitality which even her 
enemy is obliged to recognize. 

The principles of French colonization are today generally 
accepted. Doubtful it seemed at first whether it would 
not have been more practical to pursue a policy of assimila- 
tion, that is to say, to substitute for the language and the 
culture of the natives the language and the culture of 
France. But the method of France is simply the applica- 
tion of the maxim of Waldeck-Rousseau, to-wit, to develop 
the natives in the light of their own civilization. 

X. THE WAR 

Since 1872 military service has been obligatory for all 
able-bodied Frenchmen from 21 to 45. The length of the 
service in the army has varied. After reducing it to two 
years it was raised again to three years before the present 
war. The active army in time of peace amounted to 500,000. 
With all the reserves France could mobilize 3,760,000. men, 
Germany, on the other hand, could with less effort raise an 
army of five million. 

What France has done since the beginning of the war 
was stated in July, 1917, in a letter written by Mr. Andre 
Tardieu, High Commissioner of the Republic to the United 
States, to Mr. Baker, American secretary of war. These 
data compared with more recent figures may be summarized 
as follows: 



The number of men mobilized at the front and near 
the front now amounts to about three million, exceeding 
by a million the number of men mobilized at the beginning. 
To these must be added the men kept at the rear in the war 
factories and in the colonies. The casualties have constantly 
decreased owing to the progress made in tactics and to the 
development of heavy artillery. The medical services also 
have been greatly improved. For these reasons France is 
certain to maintain her strength in the future. About 
January, 1918, the distribution of the allied forces along 
the front was as follows: 25 kilometers were held by the 
Belgians, 165 kilometers by the British, 565 by the French. 
In addition, the French occupy part of the Italian front and 
Saloniki. 

The heavy artillery which scarcely existed at the begin- 
ning of the war numbers today over 6,000 guns. In the 
recent offensives the French could bring a heavy gun for 
everj'' 25 meters of the front. The total number of guns of 
all calibers, not including trench artillery, exceeds 15,000. 

The output of ammunition has increased in the same 
proportion. Many private factories have been transformed 
and new ones have been built. In 1917 France manu- 
factured daily 250,000 shells for the 75 millimeter guns and 
100,000 shells for the heavy guns. In addition the French 
government has completely re-equipped the Belgian and 
the Serbian armies. She has provided her allies with 2,500 
cannons, 4,750 airplanes, 10,000 machine guns, 15,000 auto- 
matic guns and 1,350,000 rifles. According to a recent 
statement of Mr. Baker, the American secretary of war, 
France has developed her industrial resources to such an 
extent that she can today manufacture a large part of the 
artillery needed by the American army. 

What France has done financially is no less significant. 
Since the beginning of the war she has spent the following 

sums: 

1914 8,040 million francs 

1915 ..22,000 million francs 

1916 32,640 million francs 

1917 _...: 41,000 million francs 

20 



From the first of August, 1914, to January, 1918, she 
borrowed in foreign countries nineteen billion francs and 
loaned to various allied governments six billions. 

Without introducing radical changes in the life of the 
nation such results could not have been obtained. Dis- 
tributed between the front and the war-factories men had to 
leave the farms, and many women who before the war had 
been employed in various agricultural industries are work- 
ing today in ammunition plants. France is far from being 
"bled white," as has been said too often. However, there 
is no doubt that in many respects she needs the help and 
co-operation of her allies to continue the military struggle 
to which she has devoted all her energies since August, 1914. 

XI. THE FRENCH PEOPLE 

Because of the very diversity of the French people, to 
which we have already alluded, it is almost impossible to give 
a satisfactory definition of the French character. Those 
who have travelled and lived in France are well aware how 
widely her inhabitants differ in temperament and character. 
Many hasty judgments and prejudices are still current. It 
may not be amiss therefore to indicate briefly their origin. 

The French people have often been misrepresented as 
incapable of sustained effort and as impatient of every 
form of government. Certain episodes of her history have 
been viciously seized upon to disseminate prejudices against 
the French. For the faults committed in the past by gov- 
ernments not of the people's own free choice, the whole 
nation has often been indicted. There has been a tendency 
to define the French people as light, brilliant, gay, polite, 
possessing talents for the minor arts, but incapable of pro- 
ducing geniuses of the first rank. The words of Matthew 
Arnold, "France famed in all great arts in none supreme," 
have too often been quoted with approval. But such a con- 
ception is only possible by ignoring the historical develop- 
ment of France and by disregarding the conditions which 
prevail there today. 

Because they can find in their own country almost all the 
necessities of life the French have never aspired to become 



conquerors. In their history they have shown to better 
advantage in vv^ars of defense than in wars of conquest. 
Conquerors such as Louis XIV and Napoleon were indeed 
able at certain historic moments to lead the French people 
astray, only to be deprecated when French independence of 
judgment asserted itself. On the other hand, they have al- 
ways fought with tenacity to defend the country from 
invaders, and on such occasions have displayed heroic efforts 
to retain their national independence. 

The internal history of France, for the last hundred and 
fifty years, is the history of a nation that has endeavored 
unceasingly and constantly to gain its political liberties. 
These liberties were very difficult to make stable at one 
stroke in a country where traditions were so deeply rooted. 
One must avoid the mistake of judging France from the 
point of view of America. We must not compare a new 
country which has developed its institutions without being 
hampered by the past with a country burdened with a long 
history and obliged to tear down ancient institutions to build 
up a new social order. It is only in our day, under the Third 
Republic, that the French can enjoy the liberties for which 
they have so long struggled. It is therefore not surprising 
to find among them, in their institutions and their customs, 
many ancient traditions that may seem strange to those who 
associate France with a spirit essentially revolutionary. 

One should never lose sight of the fact that France is an 
agricultural country, a country rather of small land owners 
than of captains of industry. Out of 38 million inhabitants 
there are in France 8 million people who own a piece of land. 
According to the census of 1906 there were in France 20 
million people working for their living. They were distri- 
buted as follows according to their occupations : agriculture, 
8,777,053; industries, 5,979,216; commerce, 2,002,681; 
liberal professions, 483,179; government service, including 
the army, 1,220,154; domestic service, 1,012,232; mines, 
281,027; fisheries, 78,000. The agricultural workers and the 
owners of small farms constituted consequently a large 
majority. These farms, often represent the work of several 
generations and are transmitted from father to son. Just 



as in other countries so in France the cities draw many men 
away from the farms, but the French still have a love for 
the soil and their home. 

The French peasant has endurance and patience; he is 
thrifty and sober. Such qualities make him rank among 
the first farmers of the world. These qualities are also 
found among the middle class and among government offi- 
cials. It would be difficult to find government servants more 
honest and with a greater sense of duty than the French. 
Their faults being of these very qualities inhibit somewhat 
their initiative and account for a certain narrowness and 
timidity. 

The artisans as they were once called, or the workers as 
they are called today, have gained an important place in the 
nineteenth century with the development of industry. 
France, in common with every modern nation, has had some 
difficulties with this new element, which congTegated in the 
great cities and, confined to a limited area, showed itself 
more impulsive and more impatient than the inhabitants of 
small towns and the country. The proletariat may be said to 
form a certain political party, but do not constitute a dis- 
tinctive class. Many of them are peasants or the sons of 
peasants, but all of them are before everything else French- 
men and like all Frenchmen are under the influence of 
tradition. 

Common sense, moderation, honesty, and courage — these 
are the reserve moral forces of the French people. Their 
vivid imagination, however, makes them liable to be mis- 
understood by foreigners. The French have also a passion- 
ate love for ideas which they pursue with a rigorous logic 
so characteristic of their political and religious discussions. 
But they are not, as they are often represented to be, 
emotional and suggestible, ready to yield without resistance 
to their first impulse. A study of their history shows that 
France has followed an orderly line of development. The 
motto of the Republic "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," in a 
sense still expresses their ideal. However difficult of attain- 
ment in the world as it is at present constituted, this ideal 
the French have constantly endeavored to approach. 

23 



The union of common sense and imagination, qualities 
seemingly contradictory, explains the character of French 
literature. French literature never completely expresses 
French society at a given time. The classical period which 
recognized the sovereignty of reason was followed by roman- 
ticism proclaiming the superiority of imagination. But it is 
significant to bear in mind that this very romanticism soon 
made way for a realistic reaction. At different periods one 
of the two fundamental tendencies of the French people 
dominates in literature. While the one holds sway the other 
never completely disappears, the true character of the 
French remaining the same throughout. 

The marriage of the two qualities just noted appears in 
a more striking form in the French scientists. The French 
scientist is endowed with imagination necessary for great 
discoveries and for systematic construction, but on the other 
hand, he also possesses infinite patience, without which there 
can be no true scientific genius. One of the most glorious 
examples of a scientist in whom these two qualities are 
found united was Pasteur. His discoveries have revolution- 
ized biology, but he obtained his results through careful 
observations and minute experiments. 

Imagination and common sense are not found in the 
same degree among all the representatives of a people that 
comprises almost 40 million individiials. No doubt many 
secondary traits might be marked. But the two we have 
mentioned seem fundamental and permanent. The present 
war has revealed to the world the true nature of the French 
people. France has not changed her national characteristics 
in a day. A careful examination shows that the qualities 
which the French soldiers have displayed on the battle field, 
on the Marne or at Verdun, are the very qualities that 
characterize the French people in their daily life. 



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